1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for applying sliders to separable slide fasteners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 58-221903 published on Dec. 23, 1983 discloses an automatic slider applicator for applying a slider to a separable slide fastener having a box pin and an insertion pin which are mounted respectively on the leading ends of slide fastener stringers. The revealed automatic slide fastener applicator includes an upstanding slider holder having a locking block and a stopper block which are vertically movably disposed in the slider holder. The stopper block has a vertical stopper on its upper end. The locking block has a spring-loaded slider locking lever on its upper end portion for locking a slider on the upper end of the stopper block. With the slider thus locked in position, the leading end of the slider is spaced from the vertical stopper on the stopper block. After the slider is locked, the box pin and the insertion pin are inserted through the slider until they are brought into abutment against the vertical stopper, whereupon the endmost coupling elements following the box and insertion pins are interengaged within the slider.
The coupling elements of the slide fastener stringers can properly be intermeshed in the slider only when the box and insertion pins are aligned on the stringer tapes, respectively. If one of the box and insertion pins is not properly positioned, then they are misaligned and the nearby endmost coupling elements are not allowed to be coupled in the slider. The endmost coupling elements are therefore jammed in the slider, resulting in a shutdown of the slide fastener finishing machine operatively coupled to the slider applicator. It has been time-consuming to find such a misalignment or improper positioning of the box and insertion pins because of a lot of manual labor involved, and troubles due to the misaligned pins have lowered the rate of production of separable slide fasteners.